The King ?

King of the Delta Blues by Robert Johnson. Why Robert Johnson ? Why not Charlie Patton or Lonnie Johnson or Son House for instance ? The title was presumably record company hype from Columbia when John Hammond acquired the rights to the recordings in the early sixties but the mythical status seems to have stuck firmly. Certainly young ( as they were then ) white musicians like Eric Clapton, Peter Green and Bob Dylan bought into the legendary status of these recordings. There was noticeably less vocal support from contemporary black bluesmen. Don't get me wrong, I love the record. But what I hear is a very fine collection of country blues songs but not anything "apart" from several other performers of that time and place. So, is it the mystery, the early death in unexplained circumstances, the pact with the devil at the crossroads ? Probably not worth worrying about, just be thankful we have the recordings.